


Nobody Camps in Hometown's Woods

by Gote_Herder



Series: Hometown's Woods [1]
Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Camping, Horror, Mild Language, Mystery, cryptid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26696392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gote_Herder/pseuds/Gote_Herder
Summary: Old story from earlier this year that I spruced up a bit.Asriel Takes Kris and Susie camping
Relationships: Kris/Susie (Deltarune)
Series: Hometown's Woods [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942696
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Nobody Camps in Hometown's Woods

”Susie’s still coming, right?” Asriel asked his brother as he reached into the fridge. 

”Yeah.” Kris replied, giving his brother a nod. “By the way, thanks for letting her come along.”

Asriel pulled out two packs of hot dogs and gave them a thoughtful look before shaking his head and grabbing another four. ”I wouldn’t dream of separating my little brother from his girlfriend if I could help it. Just keep it down while I’m trying to sleep, okay?”

Though Kris could tell that his brother’s comment was in jest, he still felt his face turn a bit red at the implication. 

”We’ll behave.” He assured his brother, though even he knew his tone wasn’t convincing. 

”I don’t believe that for a second.” Asriel chuckled. “But don’t worry, neither will I. Just focus on enjoying yourself out there. That’s what this is all about.”

They were all packed now, and the only thing left to do was pick Susie up on their way to the woods. Kris had never actually been out there, or at least not half as deep into them as his brother supposedly went on a regular basis. 

Asriel’s near obsession with the expansive forest started with the single camping trip their father had taken him on before their parents broke up, after which he had taken to venturing out alone there for as long as a week. Kris had never understood this odd habit, but Asriel always came back from his seclusion more energized than before, so it must have done something for him.

Now, however, he found himself looking forward to learning about his brother’s hobby, and if doing so gave him the chance to spend time alone with Susie, he was not about to complain.

The dragon in question was waiting outside her house by the time Asriel and Kris drove up, a backpack already slung over her shoulder. She wore the same tough, brown leather jacket and rugged blue jeans that Kris did, a consequence of Asriel having procured them both clothes just for this occasion. 

She waved to Kris with a wide grin as Asriel stopped the car, allowing the human to open a side door to let Susie in. ”Sup, freak! Ready to eat bugs and drink rainwater?”

Kris chuckled. ”It’s not gonna be THAT bad. Besides, I’m sure my brother knows what bugs taste good anyway.”

Asriel answered without missing a beat. “Crickets and mealworms. But if the hot dogs don’t turn out well I’d rather use the bugs to fish.”

The drive to the small parking lot where the trail into the forest started only took about five minutes, and before they knew it, Kris and Susie were hauling their equipment right back out of the car. 

Susie had little trouble carrying her pack, which also contained the tent she and Kris were going to share. Kris on the other hand was rather unused to carrying loads, and so felt himself hunching a bit under the weight of his sleeping bag and extra clothes. 

The forest was beautiful enough in the fall that the aching shoulders were worth it. They had arrived at just the right time of the season, when the leaves were changing color but the trees weren’t totally bare, making the canopy a beautiful mosaic of orange, red, and yellow leaves. It was pleasantly cool too, and though it would certainly get much colder when the sun set, the outdoors were comfortable for now.

Asriel led them down the trail for a good ten minutes before turning off the path. This made their trek somewhat more difficult, but not impossible. After a half hour walk they crested a hill and saw the treeline become sparser near the bottom, ending by the shore of a large, crystal clear lake that shimmered with the reflected rays of the afternoon sun.

”We’ll be camping along the shore down there.” Explained Asriel. “The fire will be safer that way.”

”I didn’t even know there was a lake out here at all.” Kris commented, his eyes glued to the water’s surface. 

“Not many people do.” Asriel said proudly as he led them down the hill. “I don’t think anyone goes this far off the trail, and even dad didn’t take me out here back in the day.”

Kris’ curiosity was suddenly piqued by the idea that Asriel was the only one in town who bothered to enjoy the forest, especially considering the clean-looking lake.

”Why doesn’t anyone else from town go out here anyway? The lake looks perfect for swimming.”

”Because most of Hometown is boring.” Susie interjected. “Let’s be real, Kris, you and I have the best sense of adventure out of anyone around here.”

”I guess you’ve got a point.” He admitted. “Not that I’m complaining. It’d be annoying if a bunch of other people were out here too.”

Now that they were closer to the shore, Kris could finally make out a modest firepit already lying a good distance from the treeline. No doubt leftover from Asriel’s earlier visits. It was here that they put down their backpacks and began the process of putting their tents up. Fortunately Kris had already practiced this a few times before the trip so as not to embarrass himself by fumbling with the tent. Susie, however, was not content with having Kris do it for her, and they ended up taking it down and putting it back up several times until she was able to do it herself.

Next was the task of building up a stock of firewood and kindling with which to cook meals and keep warm during the oncoming night. Susie and Kris both volunteered for this task while Asriel went to go fish by the lakeside.

This was why Kris had really wanted to go on this trip. He and Susie could get alone time in town, but there was nothing quite like being together under the forest canopy with the only living things for miles being animals. And Asriel, of course, but they both knew he wouldn’t bother them.

Kris was far more relaxed out here with her than he ever could have back home, and even Susie seemed less tense and spoke without hesitation. What could have been a ten minute trip turned into a five hour walk through the forest around the lake.

Getting lost was never a concern that entered their minds while they chatted comfortably beneath the trees, occasionally getting distracted by the occasional squirrel, bird, or other benign forest wildlife that never visited Hometown. On occasion, when they went closer to the rock strewn shores of the lake, they’d stop and peruse the various stones and pebbles that sat just at the edge of the water. Often, the water deceived the pair into thinking the stones were more lustrous than they actually were, but Susie managed to find a few she wanted to keep and insisted Kris take some of the shiniest ones himself. 

It was only by the time the sun was beginning to set that they finally agreed they should head back to the camp, which they could still easily see since they had stayed near the lake. Asriel didn’t question their extended absence upon their return. In fact, he seemed happy that they had spent so much time enjoying the scenery and each other. 

Susie made liberal use of her quickly developing fire breath around the campfire during dinner, first sparing them the use of matches by lighting up the material in the fire pit and then allowing Kris to hold his hot dogs in front and sometimes partially inside her mouth to cook them. 

They must have gone through three packs of hot dogs by the time dinner was over, as well as half the marshmallows, but even Susie’s stomach ended the meal comfortably full.

The faint light of the setting sun was vanishing by the minute, plunging the woods into a darkness that made it seem somewhat foreboding. Luckily they had packed flashlights, as they hadn’t intended to let a little thing like the night keep them from exploring.

  
  
  


Once they had finished cleaning up the remains of dinner, Asriel sat back down and sighed heavily. He clasped his paws together and a worried look came over his face as he regarded Kris and Susie.

”I guess it’s about time for me to be the lame responsible one.” He said. ”I know I said this was all about enjoying yourselves, but now’s about when I have to tell you to not leave the camp during the night.”

Susie scowled, evidently annoyed at having her plans for a night-time stroll run into an obstacle.

”I thought there weren’t gonna be any rules.” 

”This isn’t a rule.” Asriel said solemnly. “It’s a warning.”

The statement turned Kris and Susie’s irritation to confusion.

”What are you gonna do if we don’t listen?” Susie asked. “Spank us or something?”

”I’m not going to do shit.” Asriel replied. “Something else will though.”

”Azzy, you aren’t going to scare us that easy.” Kris said with an amused smile. “I know mom will be pissed if anything happens to us on your watch, but we can handle ourselves.”

”He means I can handle us.” Susie added with a grin. “I mean look at me. I’m the scariest thing you’re gonna find in these woods!”

”All right, kids. Story time.” Asriel wrung his hands together and stretched his back out before continuing. “Ghost stories are an integral part of the camping experience anyway, and I’d hate to deprive you both of it.”

”A ghost story isn’t going to stop us from doing anything, Az.” Kris grumbled, though he did kind of want to hear whatever lame attempt at scaring them his brother had cooked up.

”Just listen, all right? If nothing else it’ll be a good laugh.”

Susie shrugged. “Sure, why not? I’ve seen a bunch of horror movies though, so I bet this won’t even make me flinch.”

It was Asriel’s turn to smirk now as he began his story. ”We’ll see.” 

”It was my first time out here. I was about, uh...I wanna say twelve or so. Dad decided that I should get a taste of the big outdoors.”

The monster’s face took on a melancholic expression as he recalled the years before his and Kris’ parents broke up. In some ways, happier days.

”We had a good time and everything. Had a nice dinner by the fire after I struggled to set up a tent for an hour or two. Then nighttime rolled around and we both settled down in separate tents for the night.”

Asriel’s expression turned into a far off, distant look. “I… uh… didn’t zip up the flap on my tent all the way. Wasn’t exactly the brightest kid. I woke up in the middle of the night to dad’s voice quietly asking me to wake up.”

”I took a while to open my eyes, but the face peering into my tent was definitely my dad’s, so I didn’t think anything was wrong. Not even when he told me that he wanted to show me something and started leading me away from the camp.”

”Did he at least apologize for waking you up?” Susie asked. “If someone wakes me up at midnight like that, I’m gonna tell them where to shove it.”

Asriel nodded. ”Yeah, he was apologetic about it. But it seemed important, so I did as I was told and followed him out onto the trail.”

”He… he led me off the path again. That’s about when things started getting weird. He wouldn’t answer me when I asked him what was so important. Wouldn’t say much at all, actually...”

Asriel’s voice got quieter the more he spoke, as if worrying that someone might overhear them.

”And then I heard my dad’s voice from the direction of the camp, calling for me. Which was weird considering I was following right behind him. I looked away from ‘dad’ for just a moment when I heard him calling. When I looked back, there was a fox in front of me where I could have sworn dad was just a second ago, staring back at me with bright yellow eyes. As soon as I saw that I ran back to camp as fast as my legs could carry me. I told dad about it and we went home at first light.”

To Kris, this didn’t exactly sound like a reason to confine them to camp at night. In fact, it sounded more like the late night delusions of a young, anxious mind.

”Sounds like you were sleepwalking and dreamed something up.” Kris told his brother. “Besides, you were so young that I doubt even your memory of that day is entirely accurate.”

”Look, that’s what I remember! Evidently it spooked dad enough to make him not bring me out here again.”

”But you come out here on the regular, don't'cha?” Asked Susie. “If you got so scared, why come back so often?”

Asriel scratched the back of his head awkwardly, as if embarrassed about his answer. ”Well, I… uh, That’s part of the reason, honestly. It’s also why I bring this out with me.”

He reached into one of his two packs and produced a double barreled, over-under shotgun, the sight of which brought an excited look to Susie’s face.

”Woah…” she whispered. “Can we try it out?!”

Kris let out a mixture of a sigh and a groan. It was looking more and more like his brother wasn’t exactly a hundred percent there. ”You know, I worry about you sometimes, Az.”

”Hey, even if I was just imagining things all those years ago, you never know when there might be wolves or whatever.” He stowed away the weapon now, much to Susie’s disappointment.

"And no, you can’t try it out, because if Undyne ever learned I let you do something that illegal, she might just snap my horns off.” 

”I guess you can’t afford to look any MORE like mom, huh?” Kris teased, partially to distract himself from his growing unease. 

”When you’re right, you’re right.” Groaned Asriel. “But jokes and ghost stories aside, there might actually be bears or wolves out there.”

”I thought wrestling bears and wolves is just part of the experience.” Susie said with a wide grin. “I’ve always wanted to give that a try.”

Asriel put his head in his hands, exasperated. “Can’t you just wrestle my brother instead? I’ll even ignore any, uhh… noises if it means you two are staying in the tent.” 

Kris didn’t have a response, but he caught Susie mumbling under her breath just loud enough so he could hear. “Doesn’t sound like such a bad idea…”

”Anyway.” Asriel yawned. “I’m going to bed. You two enjoy yourselves, so long as you’re being safe about it.”

With that, he got off the stump he was using as a seat and took his bag into the tent with him, leaving Kris and Susie alone by the firelight.

The forest looked pitch black now, while the lake only faintly shimmered with the light of the waning moon. Other than the occasional hooting of an owl or chirping of a cricket, however, there was no indication that there was anything out there.

”So, freak. You gonna let your brother’s b-movie tier horror story make you be a good boy and stay in the camp?”

Susie’s mischievous smile, illuminated only by the dying firelight, looked almost menacing.

”No way in hell.” Kris responded, not about to look scared in front of her of all people; even if the forest seemed far less safe now than it did a couple hours ago. ”Gotta figure out if my brother’s delusional or not, after all.”

”He probably is.” Susie shrugged. “But hey, he seems harmless and he brought us out here, didn’t he?”

”Crazy or not, at least he’s pretty chill.”

Kris fished his flashlight out of his pack and gave it a test, shining it into the blackness that surrounded the camp. He jumped when the beam illuminated a squirrel that had been staring at their camp, the light reflecting off its eyes making them seem much brighter than they actually were. Luckily for him he didn’t make any sound, and Susie didn’t seem to notice.

Turning the flashlight off, he joined Susie in their tent to get some warmer undergarments on so that they could better deal with the quickly chilling night air. They were far past the point where changing together was awkward, and though Kris still wasn’t quite used to Susie casually giving him compliments like “nice dick” at every opportunity, he certainly didn’t dislike that kind of attention. 

Now that they were better insulated with a layer of thin thermal wear underneath their jackets and jeans, they set off away from camp with the intent to explore deeper into the woods on the other side of the lake. The oppressive darkness surrounding them made it less easy to talk at first, and when they did they found themselves speaking in hushed tones without knowing why. 

As they continued into the forest, every sound seemed to become louder and louder, to the point where Kris felt that even the crunching of leaves under his feet must be audible for miles around. This made it even more jarring when Susie started speaking at full volume.

”No sign of those bears or wolves your brother was so worried about, freak! If they are out here, I bet they’re more scared of us than we are of them.”

Her voice seemed to echo across the woods, but the normal chorus of woodland creatures continued unabated, giving Kris some feeling of relief.

”It looks like Az was just being paranoid. I haven’t even heard a howl or anything.”

”No need to worry then, right? We’ll be back before morning and he won’t even know we left.”

”Not like he’s going to do anything if he knows we left anyway.” Kris said, beginning to feel relaxed again. It seemed that the forest was just as benign during the night as it was in the day. ”He might do his best hurt puppy impression though. Sometimes that makes me feel kinda bad.”

Susie passed her flashlight over a tree branch, illuminating an owl that had been unfortunate enough to be resting on it.

”Clearly not bad enough to pass up a chance for a nighttime walk.” She commented, turning her light back to the ground in front of her and her attention back to Kris.

”A nighttime walk with YOU specifically. This wouldn’t be half as fun on my own. Besides, I might be worried about monsters in the dark if I wasn’t already walking next to the toughest one around.”

”Well aren’t you a charmer?” Chuckled Susie. “I feel the same way though. Wouldn’t really be much point to doing this alone. Especially with this weird smell.”

Kris only noticed it now that she mentioned it, but he could detect the faint odor of copper in the air. It was distant though, and not really intrusive enough for him to notice easily, but he had learned that Susie had a considerably more sensitive sniffer than he did.

The sudden snapping of a twig to their right shook Kris from his thoughts and they both froze in place, quickly directing their flashlights towards the sound. It took them a moment to realize that it had come from behind a particularly large tree, which meant any view of the cause of the noise was blocked by the trunk. 

”Do you want to check that out?” Kris whispered.

”Didn’t sound like a squirrel, that’s for sure.” Susie murmured back, taking a few cautious steps towards the tree. “You take the other side.”

Kris gave her a nod in affirmation and began to creep around the opposite side of the tree. They both turned their flashlights off as they advanced, hoping not to scare off whatever had startled them. Kris’ breathing sounded louder than usual, at least to his ears, and found himself holding it in as he jumped around his side of the tree, turning his light back on to illuminate the dark shape of…

...A raccoon.

Susie’s light fell on the animal as well, and the pair stood in stunned silence as the truth sunk in. They had just been scared by what Susie referred to as a ‘garbage bandit.’ It definitely smelled like garbage, as the faint copper scent was more intense around it to the point that it was starting to make Kris a little sick.

Strangely, the raccoon didn’t run away immediately, but directly met Kris’ eyes with its own, which appeared in the light to shine bright yellow. This lasted for only a few seconds in reality, but to Kris it felt like minutes before the animal ran off into the woods, taking most of the foul odor with it.

Kris and Susie stared at each other for a good long minute before bursting into loud, raucous laughter.

”Haahh… Phew… th-that was something.” Susie panted after they managed to calm themselves down. “I always thought those things only lived near the trash.”

”Me… me too.” Kris leaned against the tree while he caught his breath.

Despite the fact it had only been a harmless animal, he still felt on edge. Something about the way it looked at him was… off. Though there was a chance that it was only Asriel’s story getting to him.

”Guess it did find some trash though, even out here.” Susie mused. “That thing smelled like shit, or pretty damn close at least. Anyway, you good to keep going? We just got around to the other side of the lake, so we’re going into uncharted territory now.”

He nodded in reply, even though he felt considerable trepidation at the idea of continuing. 

”Good. And don’t worry, freak, if we see that damn raccoon again I’m gonna kick it like a football.” She reassured him, a soft look on her face.

They continued in silence for a while, the raccoon incident having unnerved them both in equal measure…It turned out their laughter was nervous after all. Once again, the only sounds were their own footsteps, the wind, and the forest.

All seemed normal again as they continued further. Owls were hooting, crickets were chirping, and every so often, the chill night breeze gusted through the woods, causing the branches to rustle unnervingly when it did so. The next odd occurrence was subtle, and it took Kris a while to actually realize it was happening. 

There was a noise that he had been mistaking for a breeze, but it wasn't accompanied by any actual wind. He listened closer, treading even more slowly and quietly to make it easier to hear. It sounded like… faint, distant whispering. Perhaps it could have been a gentle breeze blowing through a log, but he was certain it was nothing quite so benign. 

”Hey, freak, you alright back there?” Susie asked, noticing now that he had fallen behind while trying to make out the noise. 

”Yeah, I’m fine. Just heard something weird.”

”Was it another raccoon?”

”No, it… sounded like whispering.” Kris was hesitant to say it, as he didn’t want to make it too clear that he was getting anxious again. “Don’t you hear it too?”

”I thought that was just you talking to yourself.” Susie shrugged. “Sounded like you, anyway.”

At that moment, a loud growling sound made both of them forget about the whispering.

It seemed like it was coming from all around them, and they each turned to look behind them and shined their lights about in an attempt to see the source.

”Kris, run!” Susie’s yelling was followed by the sound of loud footfalls that indicated that she was taking her own advice. 

He didn’t dare to look behind him, but instead did as she had said and began sprinting through the woods, nearly tripping on multiple occasions. If whatever this was could get Susie to run instead of fight, it was serious business, so Kris decided to not even look behind him, knowing that would only slow him down. His lungs burned as he took in deep breaths of the cold night air, not daring to stop until the other pair of footsteps behind him, which must have belonged to Susie, stopped first. 

Then, the sound of someone running behind him abruptly halted. Taking this as a signal that they were clear, he came to a halt as well and turned around.

”Susie, what was-” His panicked whisper stopped before he could finish. He couldn’t see Susie. 

Kris pointed his flashlight beam all around him, desperate for even the slightest glimpse of his friend. When he still saw nobody, he stopped and tried to calm his panting so he could listen. Just when he had slowed his breath back to normal, a twig snapped behind him and he spun around to look. 

He was alone. There was nobody behind him. Nobody anywhere around him, in fact. It was just him, alone in the vast blackness of the night.

Kris put his back to a tree and tried to process what had just happened. He didn’t know what Susie had seen that made her tell him to run, but he now knew for sure that it hadn’t been her running behind him.

The footfalls had been too close for her to have lost him, a fact which made him begin to tremble as he contemplated what had actually been with him.

”Susie!” He called out, hoping for some kind of response. Much to his dismay, no sound came in reply. Something must have happened to her, and now he was well and truly alone out here.

Kris wasn’t even sure which direction would bring him back to camp. The sprint had gotten him hopelessly turned around and he couldn’t even see the lake to get his bearings. 

His flashlight seemed awfully bright. Too bright, in fact, and the light no longer felt safe. Instead it felt like a great big glowing arrow pointing him out to any would be predators. He turned it off, hoping beyond hope that he had done it in time. That is, if he ever had time to begin with.

His only option now seemed to be going back the way he came and hoping that Susie was alright.

”Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

The voice was familiar, but startled Kris nonetheless.

His head snapped to his left, where he saw a seven foot tall shape emerging from behind a tree, its features shrouded by the darkness except for a pair of bright, yellow eyes that shone through the otherwise all-encompassing shadows. He quickly turned his flashlight on, illuminating the familiar figure of his brother.

In any other circumstance, this would have been a welcome sight, but now Kris felt his heart begin to race as a powerful dread started to fill him. Was this really his brother? Something had mimicked Susie’s voice before, and if Asriel’s story from earlier was true, it could mimic appearances as well.

”Az? Is that really you?” He asked, his voice filled with trepidation and palpable fear.

”Of course. Who else would I be?”His tone sounded too smug to be reassuring.

The faint smell of rot that had seemingly been following them all night suddenly became overwhelming, turning his stomach and making him want to double over right there. He barely resisted this urge, knowing that if this wasn’t his brother, giving into the nausea would put him at its mercy.

Instead he began to back away from Asriel on shaky legs, almost certain that what stood before him was not his brother.

”What’s wrong, Kris?” 

His “brother’s” voice was mocking now, clearly revelling in watching Kris shake and hyperventilate in fear. 

“Don’t you trust your big brother?”

Asriel’s teeth began to look unnaturally sharp as he spoke, looking more like those of some massive wolf than a boss monster, and the look he was giving Kris seemed hungry, not unlike a predator that had caught its latest meal.

”What did you do with Susie?” He demanded, now assuming that this was not, in fact, his brother. 

He ran into another tree as he moved backwards, and in his current state he didn’t have the presence of mind to move himself around it. 

”Why, nothing, of course. I wouldn’t dream of hurting someone so dear to my little brother.” It spoke in a wicked, taunting voice as its grin widened. 

The thing that looked like his brother was closer now, its grin only widening as it cut the distance between them and brandished a set of wicked looking claws that Kris was certain Asriel didn’t possess.

Then it stopped dead in its tracks and cocked its head to one side, as if listening for something.

Its grin turned into an annoyed scowl, like someone had just changed the channel while it was watching its favorite show. It snarled at him, baring a mouthful of wicked looking, yellowed teeth and spraying spittle in his direction before scrambling up a tree with the grace of a cat. The rustling of increasingly distant branches moments later gave the indication that it was moving away.

Kris breathed a sigh of relief and took a few steps away from the tree he had been backed up against, wiping the sweat that had formed on his brow without his knowledge. Before he had a chance to get his bearings, he was given another adrenaline jolt when a firm hand clasped itself in front of his mouth from behind, muffling the scream that would have followed when he was pulled against his assailant’s chest while another hand turned off his flashlight.

It took him only a moment to notice that this chest was very, very familiar, which calmed him down considerably. 

”Shhh!” Susie hissed in the quietest whisper she could manage. “Someone was following me a bit ago, but I think I lost them for now.”

The distant crunching of leaves as Susie released her hold on Kris’ mouth made them both realize that she might have been wrong.

”Have you gotten a good look at it?” Kris asked as silently as he could. 

Susie shook her head. “I’m done running now that I’ve found you though. As soon as whatever that is comes around this tree, I’m gonna punch them so hard they'll feel like they got knocked back all the way to first grade!”

They both crouched by the tree in dead silence, their flashlights turned off as they waited to spring their ambush. Kris contemplated asking her if this really was a good idea, but realized it was a better plan than anything he could think of.

It all happened so quickly that Kris barely had time to realize what was going on. A tall figure, standing at about seven feet and carrying what looked in the darkness like a metal stick began to walk past the tree.

Kris recognized the horns, but before he could say anything to Susie, she sprang to her feet and uppercutted the newcomer right on the bottom of his jaw. The blow landed with a loud CRACK and sent him down to the forest floor with a thud, flat on his back. 

A familiar voice whined in pain as Kris and Susie turned on their flashlights, revealing that the person whose jaw Susie might have dislocated was, in fact, Asriel.

”Kriiiisssss...Your girlfriend hits like a fucking truck.” Asriel groaned, sitting up to face the two of them. “Right in the moneymaker, too…”

  
  


"Damn it, Az!” Kris yelled. “If that was you playing a joke on me a couple minutes ago, it wasn’t fucking funny!” 

”I swear I didn’t know where you were until just now.” Asriel massaged his doubtlessly sore jaw with one hand. “I decided to have a late night snack and realized you two weren’t in the camp anymore, so I came out here to find you.”

Kris and Susie shared a look of confusion and fear. If Asriel hadn’t been fucking with them, then what on earth had they just experienced? But also, how did they know this was actually Asriel?

A second look at his brother answered Kris’ question for him. Asriel held in his right hand the shotgun he had shown them earlier that night. This weapon had been absent during Kris’ earlier encounter with...whatever that thing had been and now served as proof enough that this was the genuine article.

Asriel must have been able to tell what Kris had been through by the look in his eyes, because he wasted no time hauling himself to his feet with little complaint about the uppercut.

”Why weren't you calling out for us, then?” Susie asked. “Woulda been a lot easier for us to know who you were.”

”Because, I don’t want to use this…” Asriel grimly indicated the shotgun. “...anymore than necessary. Now come on. Let’s head back to camp as quietly and quickly as we can.”

There were no complaints from Kris or Susie. They had both had enough adventure for one night and couldn’t find the way back on their own anyway. Thankfully, the walk back was uneventful, and they made it back to camp with hours left before sunrise.

Kris could still have sworn that they were being watched the whole time, and the feeling of unease didn’t abate until they were safely inside their tent. It was here that Kris related to Susie what he had experienced while they were split up, while she told him that something had darted behind her and chased him through the forest when he ran, though she wasn’t able to get a good look at it. After that, she had a misunderstanding when she saw Asriel patrolling through the woods for them, and had hid from him under the assumption he was the same thing that had chased Kris earlier.

The memory of the whole experience made Kris shudder, but it was hard to stay scared when the two of them were cuddled up in one sleeping bag together, with Asriel standing watch outside.

”We should do this again sometime.” Susie said once they were finished with their pieces of the tale.

”That was possibly the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.” Kris replied. “Why on the Angel’s green earth would you want to go out there at night again?”

”Sure it was kinda scary.” Susie admitted. “But it was also the best thrill I’ve had since the Dark World. Not to mention, unlike in the Dark World, we didn’t actually get hurt.”

She had a point. Hometown had seemed so much more dull after their little adventure together, and even Kris could admit that despite the terror he had felt during his encounter, he was curious about what other secrets the forest might hold.

”Besides, we can get your brother to let us have shotguns too next time. Then we can go bag that thing that scared you!”

”For now, I just want to go sleep hunting.” Kris groaned, burying his face a bit deeper into her chest. “We’ve got another full day out here planned for tomorrow if Az doesn’t chicken out and try to bring us home.”

”Sleep tight, freak.” Susie replied with a smile, gently rubbing his head as the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms, leaving the terror of the night as a mere memory. 

It seemed so distant by the time he woke up that for a moment he thought he actually had dreamed the whole thing up. Deep down though, he knew it had been real, and tried not to think about it as he carefully got out of the sleeping bag. Miraculously, he got dressed and out of the tent without waking Susie from her deep sleep.

Leaving the tent to catch the view of the rising sun, he saw his brother seated on a stump by the firepit, looking out across the lake with a pair of binoculars. 

”Sleep well?” The monster asked, not once taking his gaze away from the far shore. 

”As well as I could have after what happened last night.”

”Gonna tell mom and dad that I let you wander off into a dangerous forest? Because that totally wasn’t my fault. I guarantee you none of that would have happened if you two had stayed in the camp and “wrestled” like I suggested.”

Kris shook his head, taking a seat next to Asriel. “No. If they wouldn’t believe me about the dark world there’s no point telling them about this.”

”Do you get why I believed you about your school closet adventure now?” Asriel had the faintest hint of a smug smirk on his face, like he had gotten away with something. 

”I do.” Kris sighed. “What I don’t get is why you come out here alone so often after...well, the experiences you’ve had?”

”You’ve got something wrong there, Kris.” Asriel replied, lowering the binoculars and staring Kris right in the eyes with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. “Out here, I’m never alone.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed what I've done here, I highly encourage you to look at the prologue to my current fixation:  
> [What's Past is Prologue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590165/chapters/64829701)
> 
> A UT flavored fic set in a world without a war or barrier that focuses on Asriel, Frisk, Undyne, and Chara and acts as a prologue to a larger project to come,


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